Williamsburg, KY - In a game that saw five lead changes and 11 ties, the Cumberlands men's basketball team couldn't get the shots to fall later as they suffered their first defeat falling to Union 72-67 to close out the Cumberlands Classic Friday afternoon.
The Patriots were led by Steven Fitzgerald, who finished the game with 20 points to go along with nine rebounds on 9-21 shooting from the floor. This performance by Fitzgerald marks the third time he has led the team in scoring with all three of those games seeing Fitzgerald score 20 points or more. The junior guard did most of his damage near the rim as he was a handful when getting a full head of steam towards the bucket with six of his nine makes coming inside the paint. Isaiah Payton and Austin Hall finished with 11 and 10 points, respectfully, as Jahi Hinson tallied eight points and seven boards.
The first half was tightly contested as the lead never grew above six for either side. Austin Hall and Isaiah Payton got the Patriots starting scoring 10 of the team's first 12 points as UC took a 12-10 lead five minutes in. The Bulldogs went on a 14-6 run to give them their largest lead of the first half with the score standing at 24-18 with 10:17 remaining in half number one. The Patriots put together a solid run down the stretch going on an 10-2 run, with six of those points coming from Hinson to put UC in front 28-26 with 5:42 remaining. Fitzgerald netted five of Cumberlands final seven points of the half as thet went into the break with the score knotted at 35-35.
Union came out of the half-time break ready as they went on a 7-0 run over the first three minutes of action, giving the Bulldogs their largest lead of the night. The Patriots battled back as a Kahlil Davis three-point shot gave UC their first basket of the second half while keeping them in striking distance. Cumberlands was not going to down without a fight and it showed in how they played the rest of the way.
Davis' three sparked a 9-2 run for Cumberland as they found a way to eventually draw even with Union. It wasn't the long ball where the Patriots did their damage, but in the interiors as three paint shots allowed them to make it a 44-44 game. Fitzgerald, Lamar Harris, and Hinson each made a layup thanks to timely back door cuts and solid court vision,
After tying things up 44-44 on a Hinson jumper just six minutes into the section half, Union seemed to be keeping the Patriots at arms length as the Bulldogs responded with a make any time the Patriots found the bottom of the net. The Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run promptly after the game became tied thanks to a pair of triples, showing they would not allow things to remain too close for comfort.
Fortunately for UC, they found a way to take the lead with 4:39 left in the game on Payton's third long ball of the contest. After finding themselves down with 12:50 remaining in the game, Cumberlands went on a 17-10 run to take the one-point lead. During that time, the team hit three threes with one coming from each J.J. Ramey, Fitzgerald, and Payton. With less than five minutes left to go it was anyone's game.
After Payton's three ball, the lead changed hands three times and stuck with Union for good with 2:30 remaining in the game. With a little under two minutes to go, Fitzgerald grabbed his eighth rebound of the game and promptly lost it, leading to a three for Union.With that, the Bulldogs were able to add to extend their lead to four and put the final nail in the coffin on a shot from distance with 26 seconds left in the game. UC did all they could to claw their way back, but were unable to do as as they missed their final three shots while Union continued to hit theirs.
The Patriots will look to rebound from their first loss of the new season on November 18 when they host the Georgetown Tigers to begin conference play with tip-off set for 8:00 p.m.
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